County hopes for bill to expand natural gas use

Published: Sunday, March 3, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 10:56 p.m.

When the Legislature convenes Tuesday for its annual session, the County Commission hopes lawmakers will focus their energy on energy, while the city of Ocala hopes to protect its pocketbook.

Meanwhile, members of Marion County's legislative delegation will spend the next two months promoting bills that run the gamut: legislation that affects tax cuts, selling public lands, DUI penalties, homeowners associations, hiring by government agencies, Sharia law and even the appointment of a state poet.

The commission is pushing for policies to expand the use of alternative fuels. Commissioners, for example, seek to expand the opportunity for owners of vehicles powered by compressed natural gas — CNG.

The board, in a report outlining its priorities, calls on lawmakers to end the requirement for operators of CNG vehicles to pay the state a fee and allow the fuel to be taxed like gasoline or diesel.

That fee, according to the state Department of Revenue, runs between $199 and $380 per vehicle, depending on the type.

The commission maintains that the change it seeks would simplify the purchase of CNG for users and standardize the collection fuel taxes.

The request comes after the county reached an agreement with the owners of the local Diamond Oil convenience stores to buy 100,000 gallons of CNG a year for county vehicles over the next decade.

The program is designed to save money on fuel purchases, perhaps millions of dollars over the life of the agreement, since CNG retails for about half the price of regular unleaded gas. Yet the commission also wants to widen the use of CNG for private motorists.

In addition, the commission is promoting the idea of allowing local governments to establish “energy zones,” wherein developers of renewable fuels could set up shop and sell electricity to people within the zone.

The board's plan would exempt such power producers from oversight by the state Public Service Commission.

On a different energy front, commissioners want to promote greenhouse farming. They advocate the creation of a tax credit for developers of high-tech, indoor farms that rely on alternative energy technology.

State Rep. Charlie Stone, an Ocala Republican and former Marion County commissioner, has already introduced a bill to that effect. Sen. Dorothy Hukill, a Port Orange Republican who represents eastern Marion and the city of Ocala, has sponsored the Senate version.

In other areas, the County Commission advocates that the Legislature fix the state's Medicaid billing process. Marion County successfully fought excessive charges levied by Tallahassee that were based on errors in the billing system, ultimately saving the county $3.8 million.

And the board seeks financial help in reducing pollution in Silver Springs. Commissioners recommend that lawmakers provide funding to the Department of Environmental Protection to help shift “underperforming” wastewater plants near Silver Springs onto the county system.

“Together, we are accomplishing stormwater retrofits, wastewater treatment upgrades and installation of wastewater infrastructure,” a county brochure says in reminding lawmakers about joint projects with the state to protect Silver and Rainbow springs.

“Marion County has the capacity to accept these small/private/individual wastewater systems, and while we stand ready to participate, we do not have the financial means or regulatory authority to cause the various connections to happen.”

Finally, the commission wants to give businesses a boost by upping the state's requirement for contractors to obtain bonding on construction projects.

Currently the state mandates that for projects valued at $200,000. The county wants the threshold raised to $1 million.

Procurement Services Director Susan Olsen said the county would save up to 6 percent on projects that require a bond because that's about how much contractors add on to the price of a job to cover that cost.

The Ocala City Council, meanwhile, has the city's coffers in mind in approaching the Legislature, according to its report on priorities for the session.

Council members urge lawmakers to fight attempts to limit local control of property taxes and to eliminate the local business tax, which in Ocala helps pay down the city's debt.

The City Council also wants Tallahassee to reject empowering counties to infringe on community redevelopment areas, or CRAs, which are special tax districts where property tax revenues generated over time are plowed back into the district for infrastructure improvements.

Further, the council also urges the Legislature to resist efforts to regulate city-owned electrical utilities through the PSC.

Thinking of its revenue stream, the city supports clarifying laws affecting stormwater fees paid by government agencies — an extension of the city's long-running dispute with the School Board.

Similar to the operation of a CRA, the City Council voiced support for a bill allowing it to use increases in sales tax revenues in targeted areas for redevelopment projects.

Council members also hope lawmakers will declare Ocala an “inland port” because of the Ocala 489 project, where the council and County Commission recently approved a multimillion-dollar package of incentives to land FedEx.

In an offbeat request, the city seeks an exemption to public records laws for Ocala Electrical Utilities.

City officials want lawmakers to shield consumption records of OEU customers, unless the customers authorize the release of that information.

The city claims that OEU collects “sensitive” customer information that must be protected, the report states.

Individually, Marion's lawmakers have carved out their own niches for 2013.

Rep. Dennis Baxley, for instance, has proposed bills that would increase the time people convicted of DUI would have to retain an ignition interlock device on their vehicles and require state certification of administrators of assisted-living facilities.

Yet it is the measures that the Ocala Republican has signed onto as a secondary sponsor that will likely garner Baxley the most attention as the session goes on.

For instance, he has co-sponsored a bill that expands a person's ability to invoke the controversial “stand your ground” law, allowing people who aid crime victims, and not just the victims themselves, to claim self-defense.

Baxley, chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, also backs a bill that declares the Legislature intends “to lawfully use all of its authority and power to resist or overturn any federal gun control measure that violates the right of the people of this state to keep and bear arms.”

Baxley, the former head of the Florida Christian Coalition, is also a co-sponsor on an anti-abortion bill that severely restricts the practice.

The measure would make it a crime to perform an abortion unless the mother's life was at risk. And under the bill anyone who operates an abortion clinic could face prison.

Stone, another Ocala Republican, has filed a controversial land-use measure in addition to proposing the tax credit for greenhouse farmers and a specialty license plate to support the Freemasons.

Along with Sen. Alan Hays, a Umatilla Republican who represents southern central Marion, Stone recommends that the state be limited to purchasing land for conservation only if it sells to the private sector an equal amount of property that is not being preserved.

Across the aisle, Democratic Rep. Clovis Watson of Alachua, who represents much of north Marion, has filed a bill toughening penalties for people convicted a second time of filing false police reports.

Watson — who like Stone is a freshman — also has a measure that would require state agencies and local governments to give “special consideration” to hiring the former aides of state lawmakers.

One-time employees of lawmakers who left office because of an election loss, term limits, resignation or death would be given priority in being interviewed for a job over other applicants under Watson's bill.

In the Senate, Hays has filed legislation to regulate homeowners associations, to encourage Congress to adopt a national sales tax in lieu of imposing income taxes and to require public agencies to give preference to Florida-based companies in hiring a contractor.

Hays also re-introduced a bill that forbids state courts from basing rulings on foreign law. Hays filed a similar bill in 2011.

Muslim groups have criticized the measure for stirring needless fear and resentment of Sharia, the Islamic legal system based on the Quran.

The House version of Hays' measure also recently came under attack by the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group, that blasted it for threatening the religious freedom of all Florida citizens.

In a statement, David Barkey, the group's Religious Freedom Counsel, called it “a proverbial solution in search of a problem.”

Barkey added that there was “no documentation” that foreign law had been applied unconstitutionally in the state court system and that Florida courts were already blocked from considering religious law in ways that would violate the state and federal constitutions.

Sen. Hukill, in addition to partnering with Stone on the tax breaks for greenhouses and Baxley's ignition-lock bill, also supports eliminating taxes on rent for commercial properties and the purchase of manufacturing equipment.

Hukill, in a recent statement, noted that her district includes more than 1,000 Marion-based manufacturing companies that employ more than 8,000 people.

Hukill has also proposed legislation creating the post of state poet laureate, who according to Hukill's bill would be appointed by the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and whose job would be to “promote the reading, writing and appreciation of poetry throughout the state.”

<p>When the Legislature convenes Tuesday for its annual session, the County Commission hopes lawmakers will focus their energy on energy, while the city of Ocala hopes to protect its pocketbook.</p><p>Meanwhile, members of Marion County's legislative delegation will spend the next two months promoting bills that run the gamut: legislation that affects tax cuts, selling public lands, DUI penalties, homeowners associations, hiring by government agencies, Sharia law and even the appointment of a state poet.</p><p>The commission is pushing for policies to expand the use of alternative fuels. Commissioners, for example, seek to expand the opportunity for owners of vehicles powered by compressed natural gas — CNG.</p><p>The board, in a report outlining its priorities, calls on lawmakers to end the requirement for operators of CNG vehicles to pay the state a fee and allow the fuel to be taxed like gasoline or diesel.</p><p>That fee, according to the state Department of Revenue, runs between $199 and $380 per vehicle, depending on the type.</p><p>The commission maintains that the change it seeks would simplify the purchase of CNG for users and standardize the collection fuel taxes.</p><p>The request comes after the county reached an agreement with the owners of the local Diamond Oil convenience stores to buy 100,000 gallons of CNG a year for county vehicles over the next decade.</p><p>The program is designed to save money on fuel purchases, perhaps millions of dollars over the life of the agreement, since CNG retails for about half the price of regular unleaded gas. Yet the commission also wants to widen the use of CNG for private motorists.</p><p>In addition, the commission is promoting the idea of allowing local governments to establish “energy zones,” wherein developers of renewable fuels could set up shop and sell electricity to people within the zone.</p><p>The board's plan would exempt such power producers from oversight by the state Public Service Commission.</p><p>On a different energy front, commissioners want to promote greenhouse farming. They advocate the creation of a tax credit for developers of high-tech, indoor farms that rely on alternative energy technology.</p><p>State Rep. Charlie Stone, an Ocala Republican and former Marion County commissioner, has already introduced a bill to that effect. Sen. Dorothy Hukill, a Port Orange Republican who represents eastern Marion and the city of Ocala, has sponsored the Senate version.</p><p>In other areas, the County Commission advocates that the Legislature fix the state's Medicaid billing process. Marion County successfully fought excessive charges levied by Tallahassee that were based on errors in the billing system, ultimately saving the county $3.8 million.</p><p>And the board seeks financial help in reducing pollution in Silver Springs. Commissioners recommend that lawmakers provide funding to the Department of Environmental Protection to help shift “underperforming” wastewater plants near Silver Springs onto the county system.</p><p>“Together, we are accomplishing stormwater retrofits, wastewater treatment upgrades and installation of wastewater infrastructure,” a county brochure says in reminding lawmakers about joint projects with the state to protect Silver and Rainbow springs.</p><p>“Marion County has the capacity to accept these small/private/individual wastewater systems, and while we stand ready to participate, we do not have the financial means or regulatory authority to cause the various connections to happen.”</p><p>Finally, the commission wants to give businesses a boost by upping the state's requirement for contractors to obtain bonding on construction projects.</p><p>Currently the state mandates that for projects valued at $200,000. The county wants the threshold raised to $1 million.</p><p>Procurement Services Director Susan Olsen said the county would save up to 6 percent on projects that require a bond because that's about how much contractors add on to the price of a job to cover that cost.</p><p>The Ocala City Council, meanwhile, has the city's coffers in mind in approaching the Legislature, according to its report on priorities for the session.</p><p>Council members urge lawmakers to fight attempts to limit local control of property taxes and to eliminate the local business tax, which in Ocala helps pay down the city's debt.</p><p>The City Council also wants Tallahassee to reject empowering counties to infringe on community redevelopment areas, or CRAs, which are special tax districts where property tax revenues generated over time are plowed back into the district for infrastructure improvements.</p><p>Further, the council also urges the Legislature to resist efforts to regulate city-owned electrical utilities through the PSC.</p><p>Thinking of its revenue stream, the city supports clarifying laws affecting stormwater fees paid by government agencies — an extension of the city's long-running dispute with the School Board.</p><p>Similar to the operation of a CRA, the City Council voiced support for a bill allowing it to use increases in sales tax revenues in targeted areas for redevelopment projects.</p><p>Council members also hope lawmakers will declare Ocala an “inland port” because of the Ocala 489 project, where the council and County Commission recently approved a multimillion-dollar package of incentives to land FedEx.</p><p>In an offbeat request, the city seeks an exemption to public records laws for Ocala Electrical Utilities.</p><p>City officials want lawmakers to shield consumption records of OEU customers, unless the customers authorize the release of that information.</p><p>The city claims that OEU collects “sensitive” customer information that must be protected, the report states.</p><p>Individually, Marion's lawmakers have carved out their own niches for 2013.</p><p>Rep. Dennis Baxley, for instance, has proposed bills that would increase the time people convicted of DUI would have to retain an ignition interlock device on their vehicles and require state certification of administrators of assisted-living facilities.</p><p>Yet it is the measures that the Ocala Republican has signed onto as a secondary sponsor that will likely garner Baxley the most attention as the session goes on.</p><p>For instance, he has co-sponsored a bill that expands a person's ability to invoke the controversial “stand your ground” law, allowing people who aid crime victims, and not just the victims themselves, to claim self-defense.</p><p>Baxley, chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, also backs a bill that declares the Legislature intends “to lawfully use all of its authority and power to resist or overturn any federal gun control measure that violates the right of the people of this state to keep and bear arms.”</p><p>Baxley, the former head of the Florida Christian Coalition, is also a co-sponsor on an anti-abortion bill that severely restricts the practice.</p><p>The measure would make it a crime to perform an abortion unless the mother's life was at risk. And under the bill anyone who operates an abortion clinic could face prison.</p><p>Stone, another Ocala Republican, has filed a controversial land-use measure in addition to proposing the tax credit for greenhouse farmers and a specialty license plate to support the Freemasons.</p><p>Along with Sen. Alan Hays, a Umatilla Republican who represents southern central Marion, Stone recommends that the state be limited to purchasing land for conservation only if it sells to the private sector an equal amount of property that is not being preserved.</p><p>Across the aisle, Democratic Rep. Clovis Watson of Alachua, who represents much of north Marion, has filed a bill toughening penalties for people convicted a second time of filing false police reports.</p><p>Watson — who like Stone is a freshman — also has a measure that would require state agencies and local governments to give “special consideration” to hiring the former aides of state lawmakers.</p><p>One-time employees of lawmakers who left office because of an election loss, term limits, resignation or death would be given priority in being interviewed for a job over other applicants under Watson's bill.</p><p>In the Senate, Hays has filed legislation to regulate homeowners associations, to encourage Congress to adopt a national sales tax in lieu of imposing income taxes and to require public agencies to give preference to Florida-based companies in hiring a contractor.</p><p>Hays also re-introduced a bill that forbids state courts from basing rulings on foreign law. Hays filed a similar bill in 2011.</p><p>Muslim groups have criticized the measure for stirring needless fear and resentment of Sharia, the Islamic legal system based on the Quran.</p><p>The House version of Hays' measure also recently came under attack by the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group, that blasted it for threatening the religious freedom of all Florida citizens.</p><p>In a statement, David Barkey, the group's Religious Freedom Counsel, called it “a proverbial solution in search of a problem.”</p><p>Barkey added that there was “no documentation” that foreign law had been applied unconstitutionally in the state court system and that Florida courts were already blocked from considering religious law in ways that would violate the state and federal constitutions.</p><p>Sen. Hukill, in addition to partnering with Stone on the tax breaks for greenhouses and Baxley's ignition-lock bill, also supports eliminating taxes on rent for commercial properties and the purchase of manufacturing equipment.</p><p>Hukill, in a recent statement, noted that her district includes more than 1,000 Marion-based manufacturing companies that employ more than 8,000 people.</p><p>Hukill has also proposed legislation creating the post of state poet laureate, who according to Hukill's bill would be appointed by the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and whose job would be to “promote the reading, writing and appreciation of poetry throughout the state.”</p><p><i>Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or at bill.thompson@starbanner.com.</i></p>